May 2020 AP Chemistry: Exam Scope, Schedule, and Preparation

The scope of this year’s AP Chemistry exam has changed considerably. Here is a summary of the topics excluded from the 2020 exam.

First, all of Unit 8 has been removed.

8.1 Introduction to Acids and Bases

8.2 pH and pOH of Strong Acids and Bases

8.3 Weak Acid and Base Equilibria

8.4 Acid–Base Reactions and Buffers

8.5 Acid–Base Titrations

8.6 Molecular Structure of Acids and Bases

8.8 Properties of Buffers

8.9 Henderson–Hasselbalch Equation

8.10 Buffer Capacity

Most of Unit 8 concerns acids and bases, but some basic material—definitions, the definition of a buffer solution, and reaction equations—

has not been excluded. You still need to study it.

Unit 4 remains in scope, and it also contains acid–base material. You need to know the basics.

The course outline is at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-chemistry-course-a-glance.pdf?course=ap-chemistry.

Be sure to refer to it.

All of Unit 9 has also been removed.

9.1 Introduction to Entropy

9.2 Absolute Entropy and Entropy Change

9.3 Gibbs Free Energy and Thermodynamic Favorability

9.4 Thermodynamic and Kinetic Control

9.5 Free Energy and Equilibrium

9.6 Coupled Reactions

9.7 Galvanic (Voltaic) and Electrolytic Cells

9.8 Cell Potential and Free Energy

9.9 Cell Potential Under Nonstandard Conditions

9.10 Faraday’s Law

Please make sure you check the exam scope.

The exam date is May 14. I have included the start times in the image below.

The schedule is at https://apcoronavirusupdates.collegeboard.org/educators/taking-the-exams/ap-exam-schedule.

AP Exams 2020 by Local Start Times: the page lists the main exam dates, with makeup dates below the course-specific information. Local start times depend on location, including 6:00 a.m. in Hawaii, 8:00 a.m. in Alaska, and 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time…

apcoronavirusupdates.collegeboard.org

I have linked the information, so please check it.

I will post details of the question format as soon as they are released. College Board has said the questions will not be ones you can answer simply by looking things up online.

The exam is open book and consists of two questions. It appears that you answer one before moving on to the next. The time is short, so there probably will not be time to do much else.

An additional five minutes is provided for submitting answers, including for students who write on paper and upload a photo. You may either type your answers directly or write them on paper, photograph them, and submit the images.

Students and teachers have many opinions about the format. One point they commonly mention is that questions probably will not just ask for definitions.

After teaching so many AP Chemistry students, I have found that some difficult free-response questions look simple but require you to choose between two possibilities. Both can seem defensible. You must select the more appropriate one, and choosing incorrectly can cost you the whole question. That is what makes these questions so difficult.

Historically, Chemistry has not had a huge variety of experimental question types.

Familiar experimental questions have tended to recur. I suspect those may appear again, but if a completely new type appears,

students’ scores could fall sharply.

If you have already worked through all the past papers, look carefully at textbook questions that have not appeared in them

to prepare for this exam.